1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sensor and, more particularly, to a touch-sensitive sensor arrangement comprising a planar-shaped element having a conductive layer and a number of connecting points that are each arranged in an edge area of the element and contacting the conductive layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Touch-sensitive sensor arrangements are also known as touch sensors. In a joint construction with a screen, these touch sensors form a touch-sensitive screen that is also called a touch screen. When touching a screen surface formed by the touch sensor, the touch sensor can trigger actions that are suitable for controlling an electrical device. Such touch screens are currently used in input devices, such as for vehicle diagnostics, in industry and plant control, in industrial PCs, in medical technology, in cash points or in handheld computers that, for example, can be operated with a pen input.
If the above-mentioned devices are used in a physically demanding environment, e.g., very cold places, the screen surface or the contact area can become covered with dew or can freeze, which impairs the proper operation of the sensor arrangement.
WO 02/052495 A2 discloses a known display having an electrically conductive layer. In accordance with such conventional display devices, it is also known to use heating for the screen surface. However, it is a disadvantage in such a conventional device that a heating device is arranged on an additional glass pane. In this arrangement, the additional glass pane is arranged behind a glass pane of the actual touch sensor. This has the disadvantage that the additional glass pane causes additional light refraction in the beam path of the display, which results in lower screen brightness, a lower screen contrast, and entails a parallax error due to a greater distance of the sensor arrangement from the display.